Friday 8 July 2011 10.41 EDT
First published on Friday 8 July 2011 10.41 EDT

Clive Goodman, the News of the World's former royal editor, has been arrested over allegations he bribed police officers for information.

Goodman was convicted and jailed in 2007 after the first police investigation into phone hacking and sacked from the Sunday tabloid.

He was arrested in a dawn raid at his Surrey home, which was searched by officers. In a statement the Metropolitan police said the arrest was over allegations of corruption.

Goodman, 53, who now works for the Daily Star Sunday, was convicted of phone hacking in 2007 and sentenced to four months' imprisonment for using the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire to intercept voice messages, who was also convicted and jailed.

The Guardian understand the arrest for payments to police officers follows emails and documents relating to cash payments by the News of the World which were uncovered by an internal investigation by the News International.

The material was handed over on lawyers' advice by News International to the police in mid-June, and shows at least £100,000 mainly in cash was paid to between three and five officers for information.

In a statement the Metropolitan police said: "At 06:11 officers from the MPS' Operation Weeting together with officers from Operation Elveden arrested a man on suspicion of corruption allegations in contravention of Section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906.

"Operation Elveden is the investigation into allegations of inappropriate payments to police. This investigation is being supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission."